Bachelor's Degree Opportunities

According to the 1993 National Survey of Recent College Graduates sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), 82 percent of bachelor's degree recipients with a major in math have general mathematics as their major area of study. Of these degree holders, 13 percent had applied mathematics, statistics or operations research as their major area of study.

Accounting and Finance

Cost Estimator, Naval Sea Systems Command, Crystal City, Va., prepares cost estimates for Navy shipbuilding construction and develops the rates for labor and overhead used to derive the total cost of construction.

Partner, Gordian Group, L.P., New York, N.Y., works with troubled companies by helping them develop and implement financial plans that allow them to continue in business.

Research Assistant, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C., is on the front lines of the monetary policy; works to attract new graduates who intend to move on the graduate school or Wall Street in two to three years.

Consulting Actuary, Muetterties, Bennett and Associates – Consultants in Casualty, Mountain Lakes, N.J., spends time on traditional actuarial tasks and many no-actuarial tasks such as marketing and maintaining the company Web pages.

Assistant Actuary, CIGNA Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., provides support to business people in a non-technical environment; that is, communicates technical information to other employees and customers in a way they can understand.

Computer Systems Analysis

Computer Specialist, Department of the Army, Rock Island, Ill., uses problem-solving skills as part of a team of UNIX systems administrators.

Mathematics or Modeling

Air Pollution Meteorologist, Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, Austin, Texas, works on projects to incorporate date from a new weather satellite earth station into models used to forecast atmospheric conditions.

The 1993 National Survey of Recent College Graduates sponsored by the NSF also indicates full time salary range for math majors with bachelor's degrees in nonacademic positions. The survey also states that 23 percent earn between $10,000 and $19,999; 34 percent are in the range of $20,000 to $29,999; and 30 percent earn between $30,000 and $39,999. According to a 1997 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, starting salary offers for math graduates with a bachelor's degree averaged about $31,800.